With headquarters in Moscow, Tele Atlas RUS will assume the databases and all activities of Navmaps, a russian provider of navigation maps.

Tele Atlas has established a new company, Tele Atlas RUS. The new company will strengthen Tele Atlas’ operations in Russia and increase its direct interaction with suppliers and with Roskartographia, the Federal Agency of Geodesy and Cartography.

Industry observers predict there will be a dramatic boom in the consumer use of personal navigation devices (PNDs) in Russia, due to the country’s continued economic development and the government’s expected move to abolish all non security and military limitations in relation to the accuracy of spatial data. Several of Tele Atlas’ commercial partners, such as BMW, Porsche, DaimlerChrysler, Audi, Blaupunkt, Mio and Pioneer, have also started to introduce their products in Russia, and now require up-to-date, comprehensive navigation data. With the use of navigation technology by logistics management companies set to follow a similar growth path, Tele Atlas RUS is ideally placed at the forefront of these developments.

Tele Atlas COO & Managing Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa Jack Reinelt said the move is yet another significant step forward for Tele Atlas. “Tele Atlas RUS will strengthen our leading position in Russia and Eastern Europe. Our commercial partners are continually looking for additional development in this region, and Tele Atlas RUS gives us the perfect platform to increase the content of our maps, including points of interest (POIs), navigation attributes and addresses. Tele Atlas RUS will ensure we continue to deliver the best products for this region.”

Reinelt continues: “Russia is an immense country with a population in excess of 140 million. It has a road network of almost one million kilometers and an economy growing at around 7 percent year on year. It is a region that Tele Atlas RUS is fully committed to developing.”

Tele Atlas and Navmaps began working together in 2004 and have already developed a navigable digital map of Russia that includes Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad and the surrounding regions, as well as the major connecting road network that joins the most important cities in the European and Asian parts of the country up to the Chinese border. The map includes tens of thousands of POIs, house numbers and navigations attributes. Tele Atlas RUS will now build on these foundations and enhance the coverage and content of the existing geographic database.